I am a CPA in Texas with an MBA from the University of Chicago. I have seen a lot and made many mistakes. Hopefully by now I will have learned something from them. Just as importantly, you may learn something from my mistakes. You can e-mail me by clicking on my "View my complete profile".

Sunday, June 14, 2009

California Death Watch-3

"The [US] has been an empire in decline since the 1970s. As has been the case with every other declining world power in history, there are a variety of reasons for this decline, which is why there are no straightforward solutions for reversing it. ... Since the states are explicity barred from coining money but the federal government is expressly permitted to do so, it is obvious that the only constitutional money is gold and silver coin, regardless of what government employees have subsequently decided. ... The expansion of the voting franchise has exacerbated the problems created by the switch to a monetary system more susceptible to manipulation. ... The expansion of the franchise to include many parties historically denied the vote has had the inevitable, and expected, effect of permitting society's non-productive members voting themselves the right to obtain wealth transferred from society's productive members. ... While history shows that a moderate amount of wealth redistribution is sustainable, it increasingly tends to indicate that democratic equalitarianism rapidly increases that amount to unsustainable levels. ... Immigration and the entry of middle-class women into the labor force are closely related to each other and to the redistribution issue, because as American women elect to work and cease to replace themselves by having at least 2.1 children each, the pyramid scheme of wealth redistribution requires an ever-increasing number of immigrants to delay collapse. ... It is no coincidence that California, which has historically been a leader with regards to women's sufferage, immigration and female labor force participation, is the first US state to find itself on the verge of insolvency. ... Forces which take decades to fully realize their impact must be permitted to play themselves out. ... Rather than lamenting the national mistakes of the past, Americans who value freedom, liberty and prosperity would do well to look to the possibilities of the post-American future", my emphasis, Vox Day (VD), 25 May 2009 at: http://www.worldnetdaily.com/index.php?pageId=99055.

"California is facing economic failure resulting from years of a liberal legislature pursuing a liberal version of utopia. The liberal utopia has become the Forgotten Man's hell. California has been at the forefront of many trends on America including a tax revolt that led to Proposition 13. Is it time for a repeat? ... The plan was inadequate and the 22% of the voters who saw fit to vote saw through the charade of the ballot initiatives for what they were--which was a band aid to cover the twin cancers of structural tax deficiencies and partisan politics masquerading as thoughtful dialog. The Golden State has lost its luster. California ranks 48th out of 50 in business tax climate according to the Tax Foundation. Only the beacons of limited government found in New York and New Jersey scored lower than California. ... Capital and jobs are mobile and will seek the best returns. California receives 50% of its personal income tax revenue from 1% of the tax filers. Businesses are not expanding in California--or they are leaving the state. ... The bad news for Nevada is that Californians are migrating to Nevada to seek a better future. There goes the neighborhood. ... California's budget for K-12 education was $42.1B in 2007/2008 up from the 2002/2003 budget of $28.8B. During the period from 2002 to 2005 (sorry, the CA Dept. of Education has not posted K-12 statistics more recently than 2005), the California K-12 population has risen 1%", Alan Aronoff (AA), 26 May 2009 at: http://www.americanthinker.com/2009/05/california_a_failed_state.html.

"Folks, California is the biggest example of the famous canary in the coal mine theory ever. ... California is certainly getting toxic budgetary news. It is killing the economy and all that this once-vaunted state had to offer in the way of education and environment, making it the envy of the world. ... 'The proportion of immigrant-headed households using at least one major welfare program is 33 percent, compared to 19 percent for native households. ... Immigrants and their US-born children account for 71 percent of the increase is the uninsured since 1989.' ... How long will this madness continue? ... I predict that as matters get worse--and they surely will--Californians and all Americans will finally wake up to the fact that unchecked immigration, wanton use of the public trough and loss of expected public services will cause a revolt by voters", Donald Collins (DC), 7 June 2009 at: http://www.vdare.com/collins/090606_immigration.htm.